More and more powerful engines are being, installed on walk-behind mowers, and mowing speeds have been increased to jogging speed. The advantages of these walk-behind mowers to the commercial market are that they are simple to operate, inexpensive to purchase and maintain when compared to riding mowers, very maneuverable, will mow very steep hills, and two or three of them can fit on an ordinary pickup truck. The disadvantage of these mowers is that the operators must walk very quickly for up to eight to twelve hours per day, sometimes walking as many as forty to fifty miles in a day. This increases the cost of willing labor, increases employee turnover rate and results in increased mowing prices.
Various types of riding attachments have been designed to reduce the amount of walking required by mower operators, but they have not proved entirely satisfactory under all conditions of service because they restrict the maneuverability of the mower, take up excessive room during storage or transportation and do not permit easy reverse movement or operation of the mower. As a result, mower operators must frequently remove and reattach known sulkies and caddies for different conditions, and this is a time-consuming job which reduces the efficiency of the operator.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide sulky apparatus which is attachable to a self-propelled power mower or the like for transporting an operator in a standing position.
Another object is to provide such apparatus which is very maneuverable and which does not restrict the normal maneuverability of the mower.
A further object of the invention is the provision of such sulky apparatus which permits the mower operator to pull or to operate the mower in a reverse direction without removing or folding up the sulky apparatus.
Still another object is to provide such apparatus which folds up compactly under the handlebars of the mower when not in use and which permits normal use of the mower when in such a folded up position.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of such sulky apparatus which avoids the necessity for extreme twisting of the operator's body while steering the mower on sharp turns.
Another object is to provide such apparatus which is configured to permit the operator to maintain both hands on the handlebars of the mower during extremely sharp turns of the mower.
Still another object is to provide such sulky apparatus which is light in weight and which provides for maximum strength during use.
Another object is to provide such sulky apparatus which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
A still further object is to provide such sulky apparatus which is proportioned in its dimensions for enabling the operator to stay close to the mower handlebars during all maneuvers of the mower and the apparatus.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages are realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.